Heading the decline are the six Spanish regions expected to request central government aid according to Spains El Pais newspaper. Leading the decline, McDonald’s (MCD) fell -2.85% after the fast food company reported a larger than expected drop in second quarter profits and warned of slowing same store sales growth.
European stocks also plunged, with the Stoxx Europe 600 sliding 2.5%. Spain’s IBEX 35 index fell 1.1%, trimming losses after the country’s financial regulator imposed a short-sale ban. Spanish borrowing costs rose to a euro-era high, with the country’s 10-year bond recently yielding 7.44%. The euro fell as far as $1.2067, a new two-year low against the dollar.
The CBOE VIX index, jumped 15%, the largest one day climb this summer.
In the corporate news, Haliburton rose 2.14% after the oil-services company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. Wet Seal (WTSLA) slid after firing its chief executive and saying it expects to report a deeper-than-expected second-quarter loss than previously forecast.